150 “We told them, ‘Sorry, guys, but this is part of the form and character of the camp,’” Clinton said. “The carports are a defining element that we wanted to make sure was included.” Clinton pointed to another interesting detail from the map. On one quadrant, the homes had been built with a vertical orientation to the street, while in another, they varied, forming a neat pattern that alternated between vertical and horizontal. As carports had been added over the years, tenants had followed these patterns. The lack of formal lot lines made this all the more remarkable. The patterns had emerged without guidance and likely without discussion among tenants. They are now part of Kaumakani’s building code. The Move to Foreground Form In Hawaii, the concept of land planning taps into a unique historical and cultural vein. In the Indigenous Hawaiian belief system, the concept of land—or aina—implies not just the ground itself but also the connection between people and place. The concept of aloha aina (love of the land) is a deeply rooted tenet with connotations of patriotism. The local word used to describe a resident of Hawaii—kamaaina—translates literally as “child of the land.” The general plan for the island reflects the department’s understanding of these ideals. It was assembled with extensive community input, including informal “talk story” sessions, a local term that refers to casual conversation. These sessions influenced the planners’ approach to applying zoning ordinances to plantation camps such as Kaumakani. Feedback from camp residents included the importance of community childcare centers and the interest in adding yurts or tiny homes to increase the amount of living space. One way the department demonstrates its respect for a historically rich neighborhood such as Kaumakani is through a place them on a shared map. All information—pictures, notes, data—populated this map. “To write the code, we made a lot of measurements, took photos of everything, and put together a series of features,” Clinton said. As the map developed, it revealed patterns that helped the planning department define the formal elements the landowners needed to include in their structures. The code was appended to the 300-page West Kauai Form-Based Code. Besides describing how the homes should look to conform to the plantation architectural style, the planners also wanted to preserve the way private housing and public street life were closely intertwined in Kaumakani. The new code defined the allowed frontage, the maximum amount of space between a building’s facade and the street. Carport Confidential The map, and the building forms within it, revealed fascinating details about the essential characteristics of Kaumakani that would likely have gone unnoticed otherwise. Clinton pointed to an aerial view provided by the department’s Kaumakani map. “You’ll notice that all these homes have a main central body and a carport on the side,” he said. Close observation and an understanding of local culture helped the planners understand the carports’ significance. “Oftentimes, planners will say parking in the front is bad,” Clinton said. “But these carports are really more like outdoor living spaces. They’re places where people eat, or even live. They’re kind of extensions of the houses’ interior space.” The carports were never part of the original design of the houses. They had appeared organically, added to the properties over the years by individual tenants. The property owner, which had already begun to build some of the replacement homes, had missed the carports’ significance.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA2NTE0Mw==